| 6v or 12v? As HCooke said, the solenoid is making a noise because of low voltage. That is likely caused by: 1. A weak battery (charge it & check it per tip # 49))
2. Dirty grounds/connections (remove the cables & clean the connections)
3. Bad cables or incorrect sized cables (replace them - see tip # 41)
4. Bad ground between the starter & the block. (pull the starter away from the block & clean the mating area - see tip # 36)
After you confirm you have all four points above covered, you might have a bad bendix out of the box. My experience w/ the new positive drive bendix gears has not been very good.
Ever since the first bendix went out on one of my N's, I've installed the new positive drive models. AFAIK, three of the four have the PD bendix. It works like this......the bendix engages the ring gear on the flywheel & turns the engine over. When the engine speed exceeds the design speed of the bendix (because the engine is running) it disengages. (and I can never remember what RPM that is) All the new style bendix does is allow a higher engine speed before it disengages. This is a great concept. But here is the problem: according to the local rebuild shop, the life expectancy on the PD bendix is not that good. I found that out when the PD bendix went out on my least used (6v) N. The bendix only had 185 hours on it. I took the starter to the shop for them to check it out while I had it off & to get a new PD bendix. They all had a good time giving me grief about using the PD bendix instead of the OEM bendix (owning 4 N's, I'm on a first name basis w/ them!). The good news is that they still have a source for rebuilt OEM bendix's. One place is left in the country. So, I'm back to an OEM bendix on one N & probably will be replacing the other two as they crap out in the next year or so. These guys do 'mail order' work; give them a call to get a quote & shipping info. And, they also do carbs, starters, generators, water pumps, clutches, etc. Automotive Manufacturers Incorporated
2400 N Lombardy St
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 321-6861
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